life in the eyes of the tall scottish lassie

Bluesfest – Day Four

I didn’t have that many expectations for Day 4 to be honest. A few acts were ticked off the list to check out, but nothing got me overly excited as other days. However… it turned out to be one of the best days! I love it when that happens!

We arrived just after lunch, and headed straight for the Apra Stage to catch an act that sounded strangely appealing! The festival program had them described as “high tech didgeridoo meets drum n bass’. You couldn’t turn down something like that!

eMDee, certainly didn’t fail to deliver. Originating from a comically named town Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory, with a mad drummer, an awesome bassist with immense strumming skills, a crazy haired didgeridoo-er and a screaming woman on a mega phone… you were bound to be entertained. The drum n bass alone was like music to my ears – excuse the pun! And you can’t resist the sound of a pro playing the didge, he was crazy!! eMDee… sweeeet!!

As more mingling around the Media tent occurred during the wait till our next chosen act, we noticed a small write up on the white board informing us that there was to be an impromptu secret gig of Poor Man’s Whiskey. Nobody knew where… all that was told was that it would be on at 4pm. So the wait commenced… and thanks to being a little cheeky… we managed to eavesdrop into a conversation telling us that the gig would happen outside the food hall… sorted!!

Bang on 4pm, and the members of Poor Man’s Whiskey appeared from the VIP area heading straight for the food hall. It didn’t take long for a small audience to surround the band as they sang to their hearts content. Photographers were at their element! I loved it J

Thanks to our trusty Media passes, we were able to enter to VIP area and chill out; here is where myself and Chris happened to come across Newton Faulkner absolutely everywhere!

Now, just to mention and hopefully not to rub it in his face, Chris had to unfortunately say no to an interview with Newton, only due to the fact that the van was playing up, and we were unable to get to the festival arena on time. Of course, he was majorly bummed that an interview couldn’t commence, and try as he may, no other slots were available that day.

So of course, it felt as though poor Chris was now being followed by Newton, because no matter where we seemed to be, Newton wasn’t too far away… as if he was teasing us!!

I was also greeted by Newton’s presence during a gig I watched this afternoon. Fat Freddy’s Drop [FFD] was hitting the main stage, and Chris headed off to get some photos in the pit. As I found myself a spot in the crowd… at this point it was fairly quiet… I happened to notice Newton himself standing a mere few feet away from me. I was close to approaching him to get myself a photo with him… but stayed clear away. He must get it too often; I’ll leave someone else to be the annoying fan!

Back to the gig I was catching though… Fat Freddy’s Drop were awesome. The crowd as well as myself loved their show. The fact that their songs would go on for ages was something I admired, especially when the trombonist was bringing himself to a sweat putting all his energy into the songs! By the end of the first two tracks, he had gone from wearing a full on suit and tie, to his under shirt and boxers!

Straight after FFD was nearing the finish mark, I headed straight to the Jambalaya Stage, one of the smaller stages at the festival to catch Gogol Bordello. I had never heard a single track of theirs… all I was told was that they were a crazy act live.

I don’t think the word crazy really gives them much justice… possibley nuts/mental/energetic/lively/eye popping/wild/vigorous/bouncy/mad/wacky… describes them a little better. Infact, I don’t think words really can describe them to the fullest. They really are a band you need to see to believe. I’m not kidding!!

I can tell you though; the crowd was going almost just as nuts for these guys. Plenty of head banging and jumping around occurred around me. I had no idea this was what I was in for. It wouldn’t have surprised me if I was beaten to a pulp amongst everyone in the tiny tent, everyone was enjoying themselves. With the band gracing the Mojo Stage tomorrow, I might just be one of those people raving away to the drum and bass!!

Just before Gogol Bordello were over, a quick dash was made to the van to avoid any hectic queues again tonight. However, a detour was made to the food hall to grab some much needed munch. I must say, I’m pretty impressed by the range of food they have at Bluesfest. You have everything from Mexican, Japanese, Indian, Organic, Vegan… you can’t really go wrong here. And the prices could be a hell of a lot worse.

My personal favourite would have to be the pies from the Gourmet Pie stall in the main food hall. I had a spinach and pesto pie… lush!! To finish off, I shared an organic donut with Chris… $4 for a massive ring donut would please anyone!! Especially a skint backpacker like myself!!